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IB Literature and performance written assignment (SL): provisional structure and steps

The written assignment is an externally assessed Literature and performance task at SL, worth 30% of the course. It is an essay of at most 2,000 words on a dramatic extract the student has performed. This structure has 5 sections and is provisional, because the IB criteria and counting rules are not yet confirmed here.

Some details on this page are still being checked against the IB guide.

At a glance

TaskWritten assignment (SL)
GuideLiterature and performance guide, first assessment 2024
SessionsMay 2027, November 2027 and May 2028
LevelsSL
AssessmentExternal
Weighting30% at SL
LimitAt most 2,000 words; what counts toward the limit and what happens over it are not confirmed.
CriteriaCriteria and marks not confirmed yet.
What is changingNo new Literature and performance course is announced; a reference to a first assessment 2026 edition in the 2026 examiner instructions could not be confirmed.

The structure, section by section

1. Introduction

Common practice (provisional until the IB criteria are confirmed)

The play, the extract and the student's performance of it.

  1. Identify the play, the extract and your performance.
  2. State the focus of your analysis.

2. Dramatic features of the extract

Common practice (provisional until the IB criteria are confirmed)

Analysis of the extract's dramatic features.

  1. Identify the dramatic features of the extract.
  2. Analyse each one with reference to the text.

3. Staging through performance choices

Common practice (provisional until the IB criteria are confirmed)

How the features were staged through the student's own choices.

  1. Link each feature to a specific choice you made in performance.
  2. Use production photos where they help.

4. Evaluation

Common practice (provisional until the IB criteria are confirmed)

How well the choices staged the features.

  1. Judge how well each choice staged its feature.
  2. Note what you would change.

5. List of sources

Common practice · Outside the word count

Every source used.

  1. Log each source when you first use it.

What counts toward the limit

Until the IB's counting rule is confirmed, the workspace counts everything except the title, citations and the list of sources. Check what counts with your teacher.

The limit: At most 2,000 words; what counts toward the limit and what happens over it are not confirmed.

Graphs and visuals

The frequencies are our estimates, from what the IB guide expects and what teachers advise. We did not count them in marked work.

Citations

The IB prescribes no style and no rule specific to this task was found; MLA 9 is a common style in literature and drama.

The workspace keeps your sources and writes the bibliography in MLA 9th to start with. You can switch to APA 7th, Chicago author-date, Chicago notes (footnotes) or Harvard at any point.

Pitfalls

Write it in the workspace

These sections in order with their steps, a word counter that counts the way this page says, your sources and a bibliography, and graphs from your own data. Export to Word or PDF.

Open this structure in your workspace

The workspace is free with an account, and it never writes or rewrites your text. What we will and will not do with your coursework →

Sources

The IB documents behind this page, checked 29 October 2026. The linked ones are on ibo.org; the others are IB documents we read in copies hosted elsewhere, so we name them without a link. Everything above is in our own words: the official wording is in your subject guide, which your coordinator can give you. LimeAdmissions is independent of the International Baccalaureate Organization, which has not endorsed this page. Every coursework structure →